Saturday, March 30, 2013

FFF ’13: Record/Play (short)

People
find it counter-intuitive, but VHS tapes are far better for classroom
presentations than DVDs, because you can pop them in and out already cued-up to
the exact scene you need. Analog audio
and video tapes were also far more durable.
One could manually fast forward and rewind past damaged sections, but
there is not much you can do with a malfunctioning disc. That analog resiliency is sort of the
underlying principle of Jesse Atlas’s time-bending short film Record/Play (trailer here), a selection of
the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, which soon screens at the upcoming Florida Film Festival.

Record/Play is the sort of
genre outing that uses the trappings of science fiction, but operates as a
fantasy. More than anything, it is a
love story. A grieving man listens obsessively
to the final tape recorded by his lover, a peacekeeper killed while serving in
the Balkans. When his Walkman goes on
the blink, he replaces a part from a bit of NASA hardware lying about his
lab. As if by magic, when he now listens
to her tape, he is transported across time and space to that fateful moment. Naturally, he tries to change destiny. When violently interrupted, he and the tape return
to the present day, much worse for the wear.
Fortunately, those old school cassettes were darn near indestructible.

In
terms of tone, Record/Play is not
unlike the Richard Matheson of Somewhere
in Time and What Dreams May Come. Fair warning, the ending just might get to
you. For a short film (just over ten
minutes) that is definitely saying something.
It is a strong calling card for Atlas, who skillfully controls what
viewers see and when. As the man, Mustafa
Shakir also really seals the deal with his final scene.

Impressive
both technically and dramatically, Record/Play
was the best short at Sundance.
Highly recommended for mainstream audiences, it screens as part of Shorts Program 2: The Weight next Sunday
(4/7) and the following Tuesday (4/9)at
the 2013 Florida Film Festival.

About Me

J.B. (Joe Bendel) works in the book publishing industry, and also teaches jazz survey courses at NYU's School of Continuing and Professional Studies. He has written jazz articles for publications which would be appalled by his political affiliation. He also coordinated instrument donations for displaced musicians on a volunteer basis for the Jazz Foundation of America during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Send e-mail to: jb.feedback "at" yahoo "dot" com.